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Herbert Smith Freehills Vacation Scheme Interview 2019
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<blockquote data-quote="Jaysen" data-source="post: 16220" data-attributes="member: 1"><p>Another great insight from a recent non-law candidate (also successful).</p><p></p><p><strong>Number of interviewers and positions held</strong> </p><p></p><p>Three separate interviews each one on one. Two were with Partners and one with a Senior Associate.</p><p></p><p><strong>Format </strong></p><p></p><p>9:00 Arrive, and wait with the other candidates.</p><p></p><p>9:15 Introduction and welcome from GR followed by welcome from a Partner.</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Divided into groups and undertook following exercises in different orders. </em></strong></p><p></p><p>10:00 Case study exercise, presentation and interview.</p><p></p><p>11:30 Tour of the office by trainee with one other candidate.</p><p></p><p>12:00 Competency Interview.</p><p></p><p>12:45 Scenario based interview.</p><p></p><p>13:30 Lunch and then finish.</p><p></p><p><strong>Overview of Assessments</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Case study: </strong></p><p></p><p>45 mins to read through material and prepare a 10-minute presentation. Given 4 questions to cover in the presentation and then 2 further questions to be prepared to answer. 10 minutes to present to a Partner followed by 25 mins of questions.</p><p></p><p><strong>Competency and Motivations Interview </strong></p><p></p><p>35 mins of questions with a Senior Associate.</p><p></p><p><strong>Scenario Based Interview</strong></p><p></p><p>35 mins. Partner works through a Scenario and asks what you would do in the situation.</p><p></p><p>My scenario was an Asset Manager looking to terminate a contract with a technology company that they had contracted to produce a product for retail clients.</p><p></p><p>Please list any interview questions you were asked</p><p></p><p><strong>Case Study </strong></p><p></p><p>For me, this was about a company looking to acquire another company based in [redacted] through share purchase. Given Heads of Terms and an Exclusivity Agreement as well as some background information.</p><p></p><p><strong>Questions:</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>1. </strong>Is the HOT binding?</p><p></p><p><strong>2. </strong>What do you think about the agreed payment?</p><p></p><p><strong>3. </strong>What else do you think should be included to protect your client’s finances/reputation?</p><p></p><p><strong>4. </strong>How will disputes be solved?</p><p></p><p><strong>5. </strong>Are you happy with the exclusivity agreement? Does it adequately protect client’s interests?</p><p></p><p>There was a 6th but I cannot remember it. Also, some further questions in response to the points I had made.</p><p></p><p><strong>Competency</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>1. </strong>Why law and why HSF? – <em>I included why specifically commercial law, I think my interviewer liked that I didn’t need to be asked. </em></p><p></p><p><strong>2. </strong>What transferable skills have you got that you think would be useful as a trainee solicitor at HSF?</p><p></p><p><strong>3. </strong>How do you deal with multiple deadlines/ work?</p><p></p><p><strong>4. </strong>Tell me about a time you have managed a team and faced challenges?</p><p></p><p><strong>5. </strong>How did you motivate the team?</p><p></p><p><strong>6. </strong>Tell me about a time you have dealt with someone’s different opinion?</p><p></p><p><strong>7. </strong>How did you feel about this difference in opinion?</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Scenario Based </strong></p><p></p><p>Cannot list questions here as it was a conversation. Mainly looked for my suggestions and then my reasons why I would suggest this.</p><p></p><p>Everyone had very different scenarios mine was how would you advise a CEO looking to terminate a contract with a vendor and someone else I spoke to had a dispute.</p><p></p><p><strong>Case Study</strong></p><p></p><p>To prepare I looked over some contract law and commercial contracts.</p><p></p><p>Look at everything on the page- if there is a header in the document, think what does this mean.</p><p></p><p>Concentrate mainly on the documents and not the background info- the questions really help. Think of everything in the context of what does the client need. And if it is unclear make a point e.g. ‘the sale is conditional on x number of assets, is x a sufficient number, how many do you need?’/ ‘The payment is in x currency- we should see if they would accept £’.</p><p></p><p>Be confident with what you say and show you are engaged in the material. For example, I made a point about Disputes and the Partner laughed and said that was his specialism but I think he liked that I had gone a bit further and given some thought into the pros and cons of the particular method.</p><p></p><p><strong>Competency </strong></p><p></p><p>Look over your application, be prepared for the why law/ why commercial law/why HSF.</p><p></p><p>Think about examples you can draw from past experience. I was lucky as I have a little legal experience but I made a point of drawing on other examples so that I could demonstrate some diversity.</p><p></p><p><strong>Scenario </strong></p><p></p><p>Try and ask questions. Think logically and don’t over complicate things. I found it useful to write down notes while the Partner explained the scenario and then repeat what I had understood back to him.</p><p></p><p>This way I could clarify my understanding and had a bit more time for it to sink in.</p><p></p><p><strong>General</strong></p><p></p><p>I made a point of chatting with the other candidates, this put me at ease for the rest of the day and helped me relax. It also meant I had started the day being genuine to myself and carried on that way.</p><p></p><p>Everyone is super friendly and they want you to do well. In the Case Study/ Scenario they will push you and ask you why, don’t let this throw you- they are probably just looking for reasoning.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jaysen, post: 16220, member: 1"] Another great insight from a recent non-law candidate (also successful). [B]Number of interviewers and positions held[/B] Three separate interviews each one on one. Two were with Partners and one with a Senior Associate. [B]Format [/B] 9:00 Arrive, and wait with the other candidates. 9:15 Introduction and welcome from GR followed by welcome from a Partner. [B][I]Divided into groups and undertook following exercises in different orders. [/I][/B] 10:00 Case study exercise, presentation and interview. 11:30 Tour of the office by trainee with one other candidate. 12:00 Competency Interview. 12:45 Scenario based interview. 13:30 Lunch and then finish. [B]Overview of Assessments[/B] [B]Case study: [/B] 45 mins to read through material and prepare a 10-minute presentation. Given 4 questions to cover in the presentation and then 2 further questions to be prepared to answer. 10 minutes to present to a Partner followed by 25 mins of questions. [B]Competency and Motivations Interview [/B] 35 mins of questions with a Senior Associate. [B]Scenario Based Interview[/B] 35 mins. Partner works through a Scenario and asks what you would do in the situation. My scenario was an Asset Manager looking to terminate a contract with a technology company that they had contracted to produce a product for retail clients. Please list any interview questions you were asked [B]Case Study [/B] For me, this was about a company looking to acquire another company based in [redacted] through share purchase. Given Heads of Terms and an Exclusivity Agreement as well as some background information. [B]Questions:[/B] [B]1. [/B]Is the HOT binding? [B]2. [/B]What do you think about the agreed payment? [B]3. [/B]What else do you think should be included to protect your client’s finances/reputation? [B]4. [/B]How will disputes be solved? [B]5. [/B]Are you happy with the exclusivity agreement? Does it adequately protect client’s interests? There was a 6th but I cannot remember it. Also, some further questions in response to the points I had made. [B]Competency[/B] [B]1. [/B]Why law and why HSF? – [I]I included why specifically commercial law, I think my interviewer liked that I didn’t need to be asked. [/I] [B]2. [/B]What transferable skills have you got that you think would be useful as a trainee solicitor at HSF? [B]3. [/B]How do you deal with multiple deadlines/ work? [B]4. [/B]Tell me about a time you have managed a team and faced challenges? [B]5. [/B]How did you motivate the team? [B]6. [/B]Tell me about a time you have dealt with someone’s different opinion? [B]7. [/B]How did you feel about this difference in opinion? [B]Scenario Based [/B] Cannot list questions here as it was a conversation. Mainly looked for my suggestions and then my reasons why I would suggest this. Everyone had very different scenarios mine was how would you advise a CEO looking to terminate a contract with a vendor and someone else I spoke to had a dispute. [B]Case Study[/B] To prepare I looked over some contract law and commercial contracts. Look at everything on the page- if there is a header in the document, think what does this mean. Concentrate mainly on the documents and not the background info- the questions really help. Think of everything in the context of what does the client need. And if it is unclear make a point e.g. ‘the sale is conditional on x number of assets, is x a sufficient number, how many do you need?’/ ‘The payment is in x currency- we should see if they would accept £’. Be confident with what you say and show you are engaged in the material. For example, I made a point about Disputes and the Partner laughed and said that was his specialism but I think he liked that I had gone a bit further and given some thought into the pros and cons of the particular method. [B]Competency [/B] Look over your application, be prepared for the why law/ why commercial law/why HSF. Think about examples you can draw from past experience. I was lucky as I have a little legal experience but I made a point of drawing on other examples so that I could demonstrate some diversity. [B]Scenario [/B] Try and ask questions. Think logically and don’t over complicate things. I found it useful to write down notes while the Partner explained the scenario and then repeat what I had understood back to him. This way I could clarify my understanding and had a bit more time for it to sink in. [B]General[/B] I made a point of chatting with the other candidates, this put me at ease for the rest of the day and helped me relax. It also meant I had started the day being genuine to myself and carried on that way. Everyone is super friendly and they want you to do well. In the Case Study/ Scenario they will push you and ask you why, don’t let this throw you- they are probably just looking for reasoning. [/QUOTE]
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